Vegetables
Slow cooking is ideal for vegetables. There’s little evaporation, so all the juices
and flavours are retained.
Oddly enough, root vegetables like potato, carrot, turnip, and swede, need
more slow cooking than meat. Cut them into 5mm (
1
/4") slices, sticks or dice,
and immerse in the cooking liquid. Cooking times vary with the type and age of
the vegetables. Experience will soon show the best times for your own taste.
Quickly cooked vegetables, like frozen peas and sweetcorn, must be thawed,
then added half an hour before the end of cooking. Don’t slow cook baked
potatoes in their jackets.
Pulses (Beans, Peas and Lentils)
Warning Boil dried beans (e.g. red kidney beans) for at least 10 minutes
before adding to the crock pot. They’re poisonous if undercooked.
Soaking isn’t needed for lentils, but soak dried peas or beans overnight. Drain
and rinse, then boil them in the cooking liquid for 10 minutes before adding to
the crock pot. Season at the end of cooking. For canned beans or peas, simply
drain and add them 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Ratatouille high 4-5/low 6-8
Aubergine, sliced 1 small
Butter 50g (2oz)
Onions, chopped 2
Garlic, crushed 1 clove
Green pepper, deseeded and diced 1
Red pepper, deseeded and diced 1
Canned chopped tomatoes 397g (14oz)
Courgettes, sliced 4
Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the aubergine and sprinkle with salt. Leave for half an hour, rinse and pat
dry. In a large pan melt the butter and fry the onion and garlic till transparent.
Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and cook for a further 2 minutes,
stirring, then add to the crock pot. Cook for the time shown.
If using the ‘One Step’ method put the butter, garlic and tomatoes in a pan
and bring to the boil before adding to the pot.
Stuffed tomatoes high 1
1
/2-3/low 2
1
/2-3
Tomatoes, firm 4 large
Fresh breadcrumbs 50g (2oz)
Boiled ham, finely chopped 50g (2oz)
Cheese, grated 50g (2oz)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley 5ml (1tsp)
Cut a lid off the top of each tomato and scoop out the pulp. Mix the ham,
cheese, breadcrumbs, seasoning, parsley, and a little of the tomato pulp to
bind the mixture. Spoon into the tomatoes. Stand the tomatoes in the crock
pot, add any extra filling and 15 ml (1tbsp) of water.
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